The Frame » film-action

I Am Legend

Jandy — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:48:01 +0000

In the near future, researchers create a cure for cancer by reverse engineering the measles virus. Yay! Unfortunately, viruses are tricky buggers and the cure mutates into a rabies-like disease that spreads like wildfire, turning 99% of the population into bloodthirsty zombie-esque creatures. Boo. The fate of humanity rests in the capable hands of Will Smith, as immune medical researcher Robert Neville, working in deserted Manhattan to reverse-reverse engineer the disease. What could have been a routine survival creature feature becomes a good deal more, focusing on Neville’s loneliness and abandonment. He depends deeply on the company of his dog and of the store mannequins for which he creates personalities and stories – a moment when one of the mannequins is “in danger” from the zombies and Neville breaks down in panic could be merely ludicrous but is instead tragically believable in his world of devastation and isolation. It’s quite obviously a Smith tour-de-force, and he doesn’t disappoint. The special effects on the creatures do, but I choose to believe their lack of believability is intentional, because they aren’t the real horror Neville has to face. I only wish the ending had sustained the contemplative quality of the earlier sections – it eventually does become little more than survival horror and never follows through on the implications of Neville’s psychological situation as much as it could have. Still, a solid blockbuster with a lot more thoughtfulness and integrity than most.
Well Above Average

Shoot ‘Em Up

Jandy — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:41:29 +0000

A bit stymied on this one. Point #1: It’s a terrible film. Point #2: It knows it’s a terrible film. Point #3: It’s not a terrible enough film (or terrible in the right way) to fall into the “so bad it’s good” category. It’s basically like the filmmakers decided to rip off every bad action film ever and then go even further. There’s a pregnant woman in danger, being chased by a man with a gun, which pulls bystander Clive Owen into the action to rescue her. But wait! Let’s have him help her give birth while in a gunfight with the bad guys. Uh-oh, she got killed, so Owen has to take the baby with him to protect it. So he enlists the help of a woman who can nurse the baby. But wait! Let’s make her a prostitute who specializes in serving men with breastfeeding fetishes. Eventually they hook up, but not only that, they hook up while in a gunfight with the bad guys. Then they’re chased by Paul Giamatti, and they figure out that something serious is going on. I wouldn’t really feel bad about revealing the “something serious,” but hey. Even a bad film deserves its suspense, right? Eventually there’s a confrontation on an airplane. But wait! Let’s have them jump out and parachute to the ground while in a gunfight. Anyway, the dialogue is so bad it’s obviously intentional, and every time you think it can’t possibly go any more over the top, it does. By the end, my mouth was hanging open in sheer amazement at the audacity of the film. Not necessarily in a good way.
Below Average

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Jandy — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:00:26 +0000

Indy’s much-anticipated fourth outing, after almost twenty years off the big screen, is a competent enough adventure film, enjoyable as long as you don’t somehow expect it to live up to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indy is older, but the script thankfully plays with it rather than trying to ignore it, and bringing in La Boeuf as his son Mutt is predictable but effective. Blanchett is suitably over the top as the communist villainess, and I think everyone in the theatre breathed a sigh of joy when Marian showed back up. That ALONE puts Crystal Skull above Temple of Doom. The chase scenes are paced as only Spielberg can pace them, but the psuedo-science jargon gets a little heavy at times. Indy does better, somehow, chasing after Christian religious artifacts. When the climax came here, my friend and I looked at each other and went, “Really?” Really. So perhaps Indy has jumped the shark a little, but the ride’s still fun, and Indy on his worst day is still better than three quarters of what pass for adventure films these days. Plus it made me want to go watch some of the Young Indiana Jones series.
Above Average

Iron Man

Jandy — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:57:52 +0000

I had no anticipation for this whatsoever. I’m not a comic book person, so I wasn’t familiar with the character, and the trailers didn’t attract me much at all. But the outstanding reviews overcame my apathy and I checked it out, and they were right. This is one comic book/superhero movie done right. Downey Jr. is perfectly cast as Tony Stark, a second-generation arms contractor who’s captured in the Middle East and sees firsthand the inhuman use of his weapons by terrorists. To escape, he builds a metal suit, the design of which he perfects later and uses for good. The reason I like Batman the best of all major superheroes is that he’s a self-made hero, not genetically enhanced or an alien or anything – Iron Man is the same, so yay! Specific things the film does well: it stays focused on a single plot progression, rather than having Iron Man just go do random good deeds; Downey brings his signature sardonic wit to Stark, keeping the film from getting too message-heavy; it’s really well paced, balanced between plot and action; and, well, the suit is frakking awesome. My only quibble might be the treatment of Pepper Potts, who never really felt as fully realized as she could’ve been, and spent most of her time being a faithful lapdog helper for the somewhat chauvinistic Stark. I felt like they were trying to give her a stronger role, but didn’t quite make it all the way. Maybe in the inevitable sequel. But Paltrow didn’t totally annoy me, as she has tended to recently, so there’s that.
Well Above Average

Three Kings

Jandy — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 03:07:55 +0000

George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg lead a quartet of Desert Storm soldiers who go after a cache of Kuwaiti gold once peace is declared. Not unexpectedly, everything goes wrong as their quest sparks violence between Iraqi Republic Guard and the underground resistance to Saddam Hussein’s reign. The film starts off farcical in tone, gradually moving into drama and nearly tragedy by the end, but it doesn’t feel uneven. It’s a natural and well-paced progression, raising the film above the average actioner.
Above Average

Lucky Number Slevin

Jandy — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 02:58:47 +0000

Okay, now this one is just bad. The trailers made it out to be a sort of comedy action film along the lines of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. It’s true that the beginning tries to be funny, but mostly fails, and then it turns into a sadistic revenge drama with almost no redeeming features. Josh Hartnett adds another lackluster performance to his increasingly lackluster filmography, and Lucy Liu is on board, but doesn’t do anything but posture. If you’re going to have an action movie and cast Lucy Liu, why would you not give her any action sequences? For serious. The twist in the story is intriguing, but the complete lack of humanity in the denoument destroys anything interesting in the script.
Well Below Average

Underworld: Evolution

Jandy — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 02:48:10 +0000

Selene the vampire deathdealer and Michael the hybrid vampire/werewolf are back, this time with more backstory about how the whole vampire vs. lycan war got started in the first place like 800 years ago. That backstory is pretty silly, as is some of the vampire mythology, and honestly, could Michael be more annoying? While we’re on the subject of annoying, what sort of accent is Bill Nighy trying to do, because it’s not good. On the other hand, Kate Beckinsale in skin-tight leather kicking ass with the same cool blue filter from the first film. And that’s really all I was expecting out of the film–Kate Beckinsale looking hot. Since I got that, I was satisfied.
Below Average

Blood Diamond

Jandy — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:53:30 +0000

This tale of African political turmoil, genocide, and diamond smuggling is beautiful to look at, and highlighting the plight of African refugees is certainly a noble goal, but overall, Blood Diamond is heavy-handed and overwrought. And I’m sorry, Leo, I think you’re a really good actor, but that South African accent was painful. Really, diCaprio’s best work last year was in The Departed, and when he was nominated for an Oscar for this instead, I was shocked, and still am. Anyway, the major reason I’m giving Blood Diamond an Above Average instead of an Average is because the cinematography is gorgeous, and it’s worth watching just to see the beauty of Africa even through the ugliness of so much of the current political situation.
Above Average

Oldboy

Jandy — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:54:45 +0000

A man gets captured and put into a room for fifteen years (undergoing physical, but mostly psychological, torture) without ever being told why he’s been put there. When he’s suddenly let out, he devotes himself to finding out who put him there and why, and exacting revenge. This got put on a lot of top ten lists the year it came out, and is one of the best-reviewed Korean imports I’ve read about, but I was a bit concerned about what I’d heard about the level of violence (yeah, I watched it with my hand on the remote control)–really, though, it’s no bloodier than, say Kill Bill or Sin City. The conclusion was very unexpected, and yeah, okay, rather sick. In terms of a well-done crime/revenge thriller, it certainly is that. But it won’t be to all tastes.
Above Average

The Bourne Ultimatum

Jandy — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:46:17 +0000

The Bourne series is quickly jumping to the top of the “best action series ever” list. Each entry has been both smart and action-packed, which are two adjectives that most Hollywood filmmakers apparently think are mutually exclusive. Jason gets drawn back into his past by flashing memories of his initiation into the black ops program, and seeks the truth about how he got pulled into it. Perhaps a little heavy on the hand-held “queasicam,” but beyond that, I don’t have much criticism.
Well Above Average